Page 33 of Dark Embers

I rolled my eyes.

Letti gracefully lowered herself to sit on the pool’s edge, positioning herself almost as if she were posing for Vogue Magazine. My lips twisted in disgust. Especially when I realized why.

Letti’s feet and legs slowly and elegantly merged into a beautiful, dark blue tail. She was showing off for my benefit.

I watched with jealous admiration at how easy Letti made it look. It still hurt every time I transformed, the popping and adjusting of the bones causing me to perform what had to be a very unappealing dance in the water.

But Letti made no movements whatsoever, like the transition was as simple as breathing. And what was more, Letti wasn’t even wet! She had shifted completely dry.

Smoothing my face to hide my envy for Letti’s skills, I asked, “How do you do that?”

“It should be a simple thing for all mer, really,” Letti said in an airy tone.

Narrowing my eyes, I loudly cleared my throat, and Letti scoffed and let out a long-suffering sigh.

“Yeah, yeah. Well, I guess I’ve never really thought about it,” Letti said. “Mermaid is the form we’re born in. Human is the form we shiftinto.I think your problem is that you have it in your head that your legs are the real you, but they aren’t, and you’re fighting yourself. Try thinking about it like your fins are your true legs, like your scales are your true skin.”

I raised my brows at Letti’s attitude adjustment. What she said was actuallyhelpful.

I sat down next to Letti, adopting the same pose, and closed my eyes to focus. Of course, I would think my legs were my real form. I’d had them under me all my life. I’d never known anything else. But I couldn’t deny how natural—howright—it felt to be in the water.

Be the real you. Be the real you.I chanted in my head, over and over.

I imagined myself in the lake again, surrounded inside and out by the cool blue water. In my fantasy, I twisted about in it, feeling my tail bend and curl, feeling the water flow around my fins. I imagined that the water was my life, that I was born to swim. I felt at peace.

But nothing happened. Nothing changed. My toes still wiggled in front of me, unfused.

“Hey, that’s a start.” Letti’s voice made me open my eyes.

“Huh?”

I looked from Letti’s face to my legs, and my mouth fell open with a high-pitched gasp. The skin of my calves and shins were covered in a thin layer of shimmer. My scales had started to come out!

“Don’t get too excited just yet,” Letti chided. “It wasn’t a full shift. You still have your legs out. But if we keep at it, we might make a real mermaid out of you. Eventually.”

The small hint of encouragement in Letti’s voice was almost impressive.

“Thanks,” I forced out.

Letti eyed me for a moment as if that was the last thing she’d ever expect to come out of my mouth. “Yeah, well, don’t mention it. Seriously. Don’t. I can’t have my friends thinking I’m helping you. Unless you begin to excel, in which case, I taught you everything you know. Got it?”

I shook my head in irritation. “Whatever you say.”

Her eyes lingered on me for a bit longer, and I finally said, “What?”

She shrugged. “You know, about the other night—”

I raised my hand between us to stop her, anger quickly flooding me. “Don’t. I don’t want to hear whatever bullshit you’re about to say. You had your fun, and it’s over. And because I’m not a total asshole likesome people, I’m not going to rat you out. But if youevercross me again, I’ll go to every length at my disposal to annihilate all three of you. Got it?”

Her eyes were wide as she gawked at me like I’d just slapped her. “Well, I was just going to—”

“Save it!” I snapped. “We have work to do. So shut the hell up and teach me something.”

She pursed her lips and looked away as she composed herself, adopting that perfect posture again with forced poise.

I willed my heavy breaths to slow, struggling to keep my vengeful wrath at bay. I’d go along with this ridiculous assignment and do my best to succeed. But I meant what I said. If she tried anything on me again, I’d destroy her, even if I had to resort to human ways to do it.

Chapter 12

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